Knud Odde was born in 1955 and received his education as a librarian at Research Libraries (1974-78). He further studied literature at the University of Copenhagen (1976-77) and made a mark as a composer and bassist in the band Sods/Sort Sol. As an artist, he is self-taught and made his debut in 1982 at Charlottenborg’s Autumn Exhibition.
Since then, he has exhibited in numerous contexts both nationally and internationally, including at the Esbjerg Art Museum, HEART, Kastrupgårds Collection, Ystad Art Museum, DAC Gallery, New York, Praxis Hagen, Berlin, and Art Cologne, Cologne. Odde has received several grants and awards from the Danish Arts Foundation (1990, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2009) as well as the Oluf Hartmann Memorial Grant (1995) and the Henry Heerup Grant (1995). His works are represented in, among others, Trapholt, Vejle Art Museum, the Danish Museum of Art and Design, the New Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish Arts Foundation. In addition, he has created decorations for Rødovre Gymnasium and posters for Tivoli, DSB, and Ringkøbing Jazz Festival, just to name a few. Knud Odde is a member of the Artists’ Society, the Danish Visual Artists’ Association, and Corner (2009).
About the Art
There is an ambiguity lurking in Knud Odde’s pictures, but one thing is certain: they are recognizable from a distance. Whether it is his paintings or graphic works, they are characterized by the same powerful expression, which is due in no small part to Odde’s distinctive feature: the bold, black contour line.
With his background as a multimedia artist, Knud Odde draws inspiration from many sources. With a fondness for the media reality of the 20th century, myths and icons, he cross-cuts different traditions, eras and genres, all united by a continuing fascination with the darker sides of the human psyche. As a cultural-historical, but also personal, gallery of fate, his pictures are full of both real and fictitious characters from the worlds of film, music, and literature.
www.ftn-books.com has the Malinovsky/ Odde publication by Willy Schoots now available.
